The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team battles against Daemen College in the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Final at Lumsden Gymnasium in Amherst, N.Y. at 12:00 pm on Sunday.
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For More Information, visit ECC Women's Basketball Championship Central
The Teams - St. Thomas Aquinas - The #2 seeded Spartans (21-7, 12-4 ECC) advanced to the ECC Championship game for the first time since 2018, when the maroon and gold beat N.Y. Tech. 53-40 for the program's first-ever tournament title. They advanced on the strength of Sarah Ericson's 16-point, ten-rebound performance in Saturday's 55-48 victory over #6 seeded Queens College. Three Spartans punctuated the All-Conference awards, with Sarah Ericson (12.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg & 3.5 apg) earning Player of the Year accolades and both Ericson and teammate Erin Leary (14.1 ppg & 7.7 rpg) taking First Team honors, while Alex Huertas (8.3 ppg) took home Third Team kudos. STAC prospered at both ends of the floor, standing second in the conference in team scoring (66.6 ppg) and second in defense (57.8 ppg).
The Teams - Daemen - The top seeded Wildcats (19-4, 13-3 ECC) buzzed its way to a 64-52 semi-final victory over #5 College of Staten Island. Paige Emborsky led the way for Daemen with 12 points and averages 11.8 points per game. Alahna Paige (10.2 ppg & 3.1 apg), and Mickayla Ivy (8.4 ppg & 4.7 rpg) contribute to a tough lineup as the Wildcats currently rank third in team scoring (66.5 ppg) and first in defense (54.0 ppg).
NCAA Rankings - The Spartans enter the post-season as the #7 ranked team, while Daemen holds the #9 position in the East per official NCAA rankings. Eight teams from the East will qualify for the 64-team field at the NCAA Division II Tournament, with automatic bids being earned by champions from the ECC, Northeast-10, and Central Atlantic Collegiate conferences, and the other five awarded on an at-large basis.
Season Series (Split 1-1):
December 9, 2022, @STAC 66, Daemen 65 OT - A pair of Erin Leary free throws with four seconds remaining in overtime, gave the Spartans a thrilling one-point triumph at Aquinas Hall. Angelique Holguin led the way for the maroon and gold with 14 points, while Joline Raposo (11 points), Leary (11 points) and Kaitlyn Watrobski (11 points) also scored in double-figures.
February 17, 2023 - @Daemen 77, STAC 68 - In the series finale at Lumsden Gymnasium, three-point machine, Paige Emborsky drilled eight shots from downtown to lead the wildcats to victory. Emborsky scored with 26 points on the evening, while Alahna Paige recorded 15 points and Natalie Angeletti pulled down 10 rebounds. On the Spartans' side, Sarah Ericson poured in 26 points herself, while Trinity Cheatom (16 points) and Erin Leary (12 points) posted double-figures in scoring.
What's Next? - With Daemen and STAC standing as the top two teams in conference entering Sunday's finale, the winner of Sunday's conference tournament final will be crowned the 2023 ECC Women's Basketball Champion and receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The losing team will have to wait and see if the selection committee calls their name, late Sunday night, for an at-large bid among an already crowded field of worthy teams from both the Northeast-10 and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conferences.
2023 EAST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round – Wednesday, March 1 at campus sites
5:30 p.m. - No. 5 Staten Island 84 at No. 4 Dist. Columbia 73
7:00 p.m. - No. 6 Queens 57 at No. 3 Mercy 52
Semifinals – Saturday, March 4 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - No. 5 Staten Island 52 vs. No. 1 Daemen 64
3:00 p.m. - No. 6 Queens 48 vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas 55
Final – Sunday, March 5 at Daemen
12:00 p.m. - No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 1 Daemen
BROADCAST/LIVE STATISTICS INFORMATION
For those who cannot be in attendance, Sunday's Game will be broadcast LIVE on both the Spartan Sports Network and the ECC Network.
LIVE statistics will also be available for fans to follow all of the game action, if you cannot make it to Lumsden Gymnasium or watch the web stream.
TICKET PRICING
All Games
$8 - General Admission
$4 - Students with ID, Senior Citizens, Children Ages 5-12
Children under 5 free for all games
* Must purchase a ticket to attend final round game on March 5 *
* Tickets must be purchased at the link above. Due to the seating capacity of the tournament venues, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. The ECC and Host Institutions will not guarantee that tickets will be available at the door. *